Ex-Marine Wins Marine Marathon

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Farley Simon, a retired Marine who hadn’t run a marathon since 1995, won the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday in a race dedicated to victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The 46-year-old runner from Honolulu was timed in 2 hours, 28 minutes, 28 seconds. The women’s division was won by Lori Stich-Zimmerman in 2:48:13.

The 26th running of the race was dubbed ``The People’s Marathon″ and featured 17,999 runners. The flag-waving crowds along the route were smaller, yet more emotional, than usual.

Simon charged from 3 1/2 minutes behind Paul Zimmerman _ husband of the women’s winner _ to take the lead for the first time as they crossed the Potomac River on the 14th Street Bridge during the 24th mile of the 26.2-mile run.

Paul Zimmerman of Cedar Creek, Texas, led from mile four through 24 before his hamstrings tightened and he faded to finish 15th in 2:38:24. Zimmerman has run three times in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials.

Juan Samuel Lopez Escorcia of Washington was second in 2:29:31, followed by Steve Payne of England, Felipe Cabello of Chile and David Howe of Silver Spring, Md.

Simon said he stopped by the damaged Pentagon a couple days ago.

``I’d seen it on TV, but it’s not the same when you see it in person. There were no words to describe it. I was all choked up just looking at it,″ he said.

``As a Marine, I’ve been in that building so many times,″ he added. ``When I went down and looked at it, I just reflected on the people that were there and the lives that were lost.″

Stich-Zimmerman was followed by Tara Pointin of Raleigh, N.C., Lindsay Gannon of England, Missy Foy of Durham, N.C., and Melissa Foon of Virginia Beach, Va.

``We had speculated as to whether they would change the course because we knew it wrapped around the Pentagon,″ she said. ``I’m so glad they didn’t.